Today if you are looking for a job how to you stand out in impersonal hiring environment that exists in most companies. If you apply online you are competing against dozens if not hundreds of others. Competition is stiff for a most jobs and a human may never even see your resume. Are there steps you can follow that will improve your chances? After being unemployed for several months after 3 years of self employment and becoming more depressed and frustrated in not finding a job, I took my job search to a new level which finally paid off in a new job.

I had been self employed for 3 years but after a divorce and starting life over, my self employment was no longer working. I had to bite bullet and start looking for a job. The first mistake I realized was my resume was not working. I had updated it to reflect my self employment which was not related to my previous career. I was trying to find a position similar to my previous career in graphics and computer support industry. By starting my work history with my self employment it made it look like I had been out of industry even longer and my skills even more outdated. I was just shooting myself in foot. I changed my self employment to reflect my computer skills so while I had been out of industry for awhile I wasn't out of touch. Some employers have doubts about people who have been self employed. They think they are going to go back to their own business or worse they only want a job so they can use company resources for their own gain. In my case I was able to explain that I had an opportunity to work at home and spend time with my preschool son, it had been for family reasons. Most employers respect that.

To begin with you really need to take a hard look at your resume. If you have always worked in one area and are applying for a position similar to those you have had in past then your resume may just need some updating and polish. There are a number of good books and websites on resume writing. If you really need help then a resume service may be money well spent.

How many resumes do you have? There is no reason you can't have several. I was applying for a variety of unrelated positions. I would of looked "over qualified" or my experience would of been too unrelated for position if I stuck with just one standard resume. I created a "general" resume that listed a variety of skills that could fit any number of non specific jobs. You can have one that is very specific for industry you are applying for and there is no reason you can't change it to a specific company especially if it will be scanned in and checked for "keywords" Some companies scan for keywords or buzzwords related to position, their company or industry. Even if you are most qualified person for that position, if your resume doesn't have those keywords, it will never get seen.

One of my favorite memories growing up as a child was making trips with my family to my sister’s volleyball tournaments on weekends. Those memories are filled with being a part of an exciting atmosphere, sitting in stands and watching action-packed games. Along with watching my sister play, I recall two other players by names of Christy and Liz, who stood out to me because of their athletic talent on court. Over four years of my sister’s high school career, I followed their volleyball careers as well because Christy was my sister’s teammate, and Liz was a player from a rival school.

Several years later, I started high school sports, and during off-season, joined a club volleyball team. When I met my coaches, I was surprised to find out that it was Christy and Liz. They were coming off of seasoned volleyball careers on collegiate level. I was eager at opportunity to play under direction of two favorite athletic role models.

When I think of that one particular season with my two coaches, I recognize it as best season that I have ever experienced. Likewise, I can distinguish Christy and Liz as best coaches whom I have ever associated with. As far as my physical abilities and coaching guidance are concerned, I had best physical and mental growth with volleyball under their coaching.

As effective coaches, Christy and Liz have demonstrated ideal qualities that have made a positive contribution to their coaching abilities.

Leaders as athletes: During their playing careers, Christy and Liz were both go-to players on court, MVPs of their team, and arguably most exciting players to watch. Their leadership attributes were demonstrated by making amazing plays and scoring many points for their team. Christy and Liz were not just any former athletes; they were elitist among their teammates. Their leadership as players transitioned easily into their new roles as coaches. As coaches, they would expect same standards that they were up against when they were players. Those high standards elevated us to challenging, but very attainable goals.